RESIDENTS CLAIM REMOTE LOCATION SERENE BACKDROP

There are more jokes about the location of the Holly Lake Mobile Home Park than there are rock pits in western Broward County.

The community is not in the boondocks. It's west of the boondocks.

People ask if you pack a lunch and bring a change of clothes when you go to town.

Others ask how many time zones you go through to get there.

Some jest that the community should be called East Naples. After all, Holly Lake is the only Broward County community west of U.S. 27 other than the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, north of Alligator Alley.

Some wonder about the size of the mosquitoes. "Is it true four of them carried a Volkswagen away?" they ask.

The residents of Holly Lake just smile. Taking a joke is part of the lifestyle.

So is relaxing in the pleasant, quiet atmosphere.

There isn't a resident who hasn't heard the well-worn humorism about buying some property in the Everglades.

"No thanks. Already got some."

To those who don't live in the park, located 13 miles west of University Drive just north of Pines Boulevard, the people of Holly Lake might seem to be anti-social. They're not. They are pro-serenity.

"My husband and I are native South Floridians. When we lived in Dade County years ago, we were used to doing what we wanted, when we wanted," said Stella Clein, a six-year resident. "We found we couldn't do that any more.

"I love it out here. We chose living here over buying a house in town, and we have no regrets. We may be on the edge of the Everglades, but it's a good place to be."

Holly Lake is an oasis in the vast undeveloped stretches of far western Broward. The community, surrounded by man-made canals and accented by a small lake, is almost self-sufficient. There is a convenience store, a clubhouse, two pools, a children's playground, a tennis court, a basketball court, a fire station and a bowling alley. There is a post office for mail. For those looking to buy homes, there is a sales office.

"The one thing most people don't realize is that when you purchase a new or used modular home here, you buy the land, too," Clein said. "That's quite different from most parks. We're a community of homeowners and not a trailer park. We prefer to call these dwellings modular homes or pre-fab homes and not trailers or mobile homes. Have you ever tried moving one of these things?"

Holly Lake has both retirees who wanted to get away from it all and young families who rear their children in what they view a safe community.

"We like living here because it's quiet and safe for the kids," said Melissa Knight, who with her husband, Tracy, has one daughter. They have lived in the community for 10 months."We don't have to worry about her playing outside or coming to the park."

Most residents of Holly Lake agree that the drawback to living in the community is the distance to town. But since the price of gas has decreased, that proposition is at least getting more economical. Nevertheless, people just don't run to town for any reason.

"I drive all day long for a living so (the distance to town) doesn't bother me at all," Tracy Knight said. "What I love about living here is we have everything we need out here without a lot of the problems, like crime. A while back there were some kids who supposedly broke into some homes, but that's about it."

Few of the 550 available lots are vacant. Many of the modular homes have been there since the early 1970s.

"I love it out here," said Frank Masiello, a Holly Lake resident for five years. "It's just far enough away from town and it's just close enough to the family and my favorite hunting and fishing spots."

For people like Masiello, it's the best of two worlds.

"I don't have to worry about anybody just dropping in. When somebody comes out here, they come for a purpose. And they usually call first to make sure we'll be here."

Masiello, like many people at Holly Lake, enjoys the serenity. After working eight hours in a supermarket warehouse, he's the type to kick back and relax.

A sportsman, he's three miles south of Everglades Holiday Park and 10 miles south of the Sawgrass Recreation Center. Both are fishermen's meccas. He's also close to hunting areas that have produced two ducks and a deer head, which are all mounted in the family room.

"I enjoy this place because it's different and close to the things I like doing," Masiello said.

But not everyone at Holly Lake likes it there.

"I really don't like living out here because there's nothing much to do for kids," said Joe Alfano, 16, one of dozens of teen-agers who live in the park. "I don't have a car, so I have to rely on my friends if I want to get away to the beach or the mall.

"Sometimes it's pretty boring out here because we're so far away from stuff. We just ride our skateboards or bikes or play video games at the store. But I'll be getting a car pretty soon and maybe I won't mind it as much."

Getting to work from Holly Lake is a long haul, but easy: People either head south on U.S. 27 toward downtown Miami and Miami International Airport, or east on State Road 84, Griffin Road or Pines Boulevard to Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.

"Once you get used to it, the drive is kind of pleasant," Clein said.

Holly Lake became part of the city of Pembroke Pines in 1980 by voluntary annexation. The residents pay city taxes, get city water and pay city utilities. Pembroke Pines police patrol the area 24 hours a day. The fire station is staffed seven days a week.

"We're not unlike any other part of South Florida," Clein said. "We're just as much Pembroke Pines as any other city resident. We're just a little farther away."

Castlewood Realty owns the major portion of Holly Lake Properties Corp. Richard Thomas, also a resident, is park manager. Children attend school at either Pembroke Lakes Elementary, Pines Middle or Miramar High.

But even if people often joke about Holly Lake, residents there know they have a good thing going.